“Winning never, ever, ever gets old,” she said, fielding hugs and congratulations from friends and family of the team.
No. 6 Princeton (13-4 overall, 7-0 Ivy league) won its 23rd and 24th consecutive league games with a tight 3-2 win over Cornell last Saturday and its dominant 10-0 performance against Penn (3-14, 1-6) this past Friday.
The team’s three goals against Cornell (11-5, 5-2) made for its lowest tally against any league foe, and Cornell’s defense finished the season second only to Princeton’s in the Ancient Eight.
The Tigers began their game against Cornell on a characteristically strong note, jumping out to a 2-0 lead in the first half on the strength of two goals by junior All-American striker Kathleen Sharkey. Another goal in the 45th minute by junior midfielder Allison Behringer pushed Princeton’s lead to 3-0.
With a one-player disadvantage after a late Tiger yellow card, though, the Big Red bore down on Princeton. Freshman blocker Amanda Bird was forced out of the game with a bad back, and Cornell quickly scored two goals in the game’s final minutes to bring the final score close.
“It was just one of those weird games,” Holmes-Winn said. “We just had some flukey things, and Cornell really came after us, which I give them all the credit in the world for.”
But on Friday against the Quakers, there was no doubt about which team was in control.
The game remained scoreless until the 18th minute, when Sharkey kicked off a Princeton scoring storm with her 29th goal of the season. Sharkey finished the game with a hat trick, breaking the record held by Ilvy Friebe ’03 for goals in a season with a total of 31.
The Tigers did not let up from that point, scoring three more goals in the rest of the half. In addition to Sharkey’s two first-half goals, sophomore striker Michelle Cesan delivered the first of her two scores, and freshman striker Allegra Mango earned the first goal of her collegiate career. She also scored later in the second half.
“[Mango] has been performing exceedingly well in practice, so it’s no surprise she played so well,” Holmes-Winn said.
Princeton played Friday’s game without junior starting midfielder Alyssa Pyros and junior All-American midfielder Katie Reinprecht. Sophomore midfielder Charlotte Krause worked with Bird and Mango to help minimize the effects of those absences.
“[Bird] just stepped up to fill in the middle so well; it was phenomenal,” Holmes-Winn said. “The whole striking line just played really well.”
The Tigers carried their momentum into the second half, as Krause and sophomores Julia Reinprecht and Carrie Diamond all added goals in addition to the repeat scorers. Princeton tallied 30 shots compared to the Quakers’ five.
Senior Jennifer King and freshman Christina Maida continued to platoon as goalkeeper, as King guarded the net during the first half and Maida took over for the second.
Princeton’s nation-leading offense finished its Ivy League slate with a total score of 46-5 over its opponents.
After the difficult win against Cornell, a big victory over Penn to clinch the title lifted the team’s spirits.
At the end of the game, tri-captains Katie Reinprecht, Pyros and senior Alexandra Douwes received the Ivy League field hockey trophy at midfield from Ivy League executive director Robin Harris.
“It feels awesome,” Holmes-Winn said. “It’s never easy to win a championship, especially when we’ve had a huge target on our backs. Cornell was a close one, so it was good for this game to be decisive.”
The Tigers now hope to have Katie Reinprecht and Pyros back for the NCAA tournament, which begins next weekend, although their opponent for the first round will not be determined until the draw on Tuesday night.
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